Roughriders drop a close game to California Heat 3-4

Colorado Springs, CO - The Rocky Mountain Roughriders 12 game win streak game to a crashing halt on Saturday morning in the World Arena main ice arena when they weren't able to convert shots on wide open nets for goals.

In a game that is difficult to describe in words, there were a few bright spots. The Roughriders controlled the pace of play throughout most of the game. The Heat goalie, Jackson Germaine, was solid in net stopping the first shot on virtually every attempt, however he did leave a few rebounds sitting on the doorstep that the Roughriders couldn't bang home.

Michael Buonincontri got things started off pounding the first goal home at 15:28 of the first period with assists from Yannick Crete and Lucas Blomquist. The Heat answered back a few minutes later to tie he game at 1 goal a piece.

The Roughriders jumped up 2-1 when at 13:41 of the second period, Lance Pennington ripped a slapshot top corner with assists going to Buonincontri and Durkee. Once again the Heat answer back a few minutes later sending both teams into the locker room with a 2-2 tie.

At 7:29 of the third period Chandler Madry got the game winner for the Heat. The Roughriders had at least 4 solid chances of tying the game, but just couldn't get the puck in the net.


Official Gamesheet

Roughriders Trample TeamOZ 15-0

Evan McCarthy Stopped All Shots he faced

Colorado Springs, CO - The startup team from Billings, Montana, TeamOZ, were no match for the Roughriders when they stepped on the ice Friday afternoon in Colorado Springs. TeamOZ was outshot 43-11 while only having 11 players on the bench and skating 8 of them.

Scoring was the name of the game and the Roughriders had little trouble in that department. Yannick Crete led the team with 5 points tallying 2 goals and 3 assists. Collin Biebel 4 points along with Michael Buonincontri and Thomas Jarman. Every forward on the team was involved in the scoring and it was a solid team effort from top to bottom.

Evan McCarthy was solid between the pipes stopping every shot he faced.

The Roughriders meet a much tougher California Heat team tomorrow morning on the Main ice sheet at World Arena.


Official Gamesheet

Next Game: Roughriders U16 AAA vs. California Heat

Roughriders U16 top Pikes Peak Miners 3-1

RJ Salvato Carries the Puck Into the Zone

Colorado Springs, CO - In the 4th meeting this year between these two teams the Rocky Mountain Roughriders once again got the upper hand in the matchup and lead the series 4-0. Each game has been well contested, however the Roughriders have been able to get the win in every meeting.

Yannick Crete put the Roughriders up early with a goal at the 5:25 mark of the 1st period. Lance Pennington and Adam Durkee get the assists. The Roughriders seemed to control the pace of play for most of the first period. Things kept going right for the Roughriders when Adam Durkee busted the twine netting the second goal and his second point of the contest at 8:03 of the 1st giving the Roughriders a 2-0 lead.

In AAA hockey mistakes usually cost goals and Alec Butcher made no exception to this rule when he put the biscuit passed Joakim Jutras short-handed at 10:15 of the 2nd period and bringing the Miners back into the game down just 2-1.

The two teams skated fairly evenly throughout the remainder of the second period with both teams trading scoring opportunities.

The third period found the Roughriders playing pretty solid hockey except for a handful of penalties. At the 11:01 mark of the 3rd period Michael Buonincontri roofed the puck for the insurance goal after excellent passes from Crete and Durkee.

The Roughriders were outshot 32-26 in the match.

The Roughriders open up 1-0 in the Colorado College Cup.


Official Gamesheet

Next up: Roughriders U16AAA vs. Team OZ

Roughriders U16 head into Thanksgiving Tournament

Head coach John Paris, Jr.

Westminister, CO - Coach John Paris, Jr. takes his Rocky Mountain Roughriders into the weekend to start the Colorado College Showcase tournament in Colorado Springs. The games kick off on Thanksgiving day with the Roughriders taking on the Pikes Peak Miners at 1pm at the Sertich Ice Arena.

Friday afternoon the Roughriders take on Team OZ at the World Arena on the Olympic sheet at 2:15pm. The Roughriders face the California Heat on Saturday morning at 8am on the World Arena main sheet. The team doesn't play again until Saturday evening at 7:30pm when they take on The Americans on the NHL rink at World Arena.

Sunday morning brings about perhaps the most anticipated game of the year to date. The 14th ranked Rocky Mountain Roughrider's take on in-state rival and 4th ranked Colorado Thunderbirds at 11:30am on the World Arena NHL rink. If you are anywhere near the area, be sure to stop in and watch!

Roughriders U16 AAA move up to 14th in the Nation

Westminister, CO - The latest polls have come out and the Rocky Mountain Roughriders U16 AAA move up two spots to 14th in the Nation. MyHockeyRankings has moved the Roughriders up this week thanks in part to the Pikes Peak Miners tying Shattuck St. Mary 4-4 and losing the other two games with them by only 2 goals. That is a pretty solid performance against the number 1 team in the Nation.

The teams AGD or Average Goal Differential increased to 2.17 and the Strength of Schedule went up to 11.94. The Roughriders overall record is 19-4-0.

Roughriders defeat Thunderbirds U15 AAA 6-1

Westminister, CO - The Rocky Mountain Roughriders squared off against in state rivals the Colorado Thunderbirds U15 AAA this morning at the Promenade beating them 6-1 in their first matchup of the season. The Roughriders got straight to work scoring the first goal at 6:00 into the 1st period. Hunter Clark fired a shot onto net and a melee ensued ended with Braiden Miller putting in a Bobby Valdez shot.

The Roughriders continued to move the puck well and were rewarded with more points. At 13:16 of the first period, Lucas Blomquist squeezed the puck past Hayden Hawkey with assists going to Felix Jarry and Thomas Jarman which ended up being the game winner. Almost 15 seconds later Yannick Crete hoped on the scoring bandwagon with tic-tac-toe passing from Michael Buononcontri and Lucas Blomquist.

The Roughriders only netted one goal in the second when Max Ross took a Thomas Jarman pass and beat the goalie on the short side.

After just 1:40 into the final frame, Collin Biebel's shot eluded Hawkey and put the Rougriders up 5-0. The Tbirds weren't ready to go away just yet and after working hard they were rewarded with a Matt Meier goal. The puck kicked off the back boards in an unusual manner and fell right on the stick of Meier.

Hunter Clark tallied the final goal at the 9:05 mark on Felix Jarry's third assist of the game.

The Roughriders outshot the Thunderbirds 35-22. Joakim Jutras and Evan McCarthy shared duties in net for the Roughriders.

Official Gamesheet

Roughriders Rank 16th Nationally after Big Weekend in Chicago

Westminister, CO - The Rocky Mountain Roughrider U16 AAA team moved up to 16th in the country after a big weekend in Chicago. The team went 7-0 and are on a 9 game win streak. The team takes on the Thunderbird U15 AAA team this weekend at the Promenade Ice Center at 11am on Sunday morning.


MyHockeyRankings.com

Rocky Mountain Roughriders WIN Chicago Nike Bauer Invitational Tournament!!

Rocky Mountain Roughriders U16 AAA Champions

Orland Park, IL - The Rocky Mountain Roughriders entered the Championship game with a perfect 6-0 record. The Tampa Bay Alliance also qualified by going 6-0 in the tournament.

The opening faceoff brought a brisk tempo to the game and entertained fans, family and scouts with back and forth play. Each team shared possession time throughout the first period, until finally at the 12:44 mark of the first period, Michael Buonincontri got the Roughriders on the board first. The teams skated fairly evenly for the next 1/2 period with the Roughriders outworking the Alliance. The Roughrider attack was relentless, however, and by the middle of the second period the Alliance were running on fumes.

Hunter Clark Celebrates an important goal

At 6:11 of the second period, Hunter Clark buried a pass from Bobby Valdez to give the Roughriders a 2-0 tilt in the match. Buonincontri got back into the action when he rifled a shot passed the Alliance goal tender after getting a dirty pass from Adam Durkee. Lucas Blomquist nearly bent his stick in half on a slapshot from the point that went top shelf up where grandma hides the peanut butter!

The Roughrider scoring machine caught fire again midway through the third when Braiden Miller threaded the puck through a narrow gap on a shot from just above the goaline. That line wasn't quite through yet as Miller and Valdez worked the puck over to Clark who tallied his second goal in as many periods to put the Roughriders up 6-0.

Joakim Jutras pitched another shutout stopping every shot he faced. He played well behind a solid defensive core. The Roughrider blueliners were solid from the opening faceoff to the final whistle!

The Roughriders finished the weekend 7-0, outscoring their opponents 41-4 and took away the Nike Bauer Invitational Tournament Cup. Joakim Jutras was awarded the tournament goalie MVP and Yannick Crete was awarded the MVP for forwards.




Official Gamesheet

Rocky Mountain Roughriders Advance to Semi-Finals at Chicago Nike Bauer 2010

Max Ross and Yannick Crete Celebrate

Darien, IL - The Rocky Mountain Roughriders advanced to the semi-final round at the 2010 Chicago Nike Bauer Invitational tournament by beating the New Jersey Freeze 3-0.  Next on the radar were the Indianapolis Jr. Ice. The Jr. Ice were undefeated coming into the matchup and had outscored their opponents 21-6 in the seeding round. Drew Doyon and Joe Chitwood tallied up the bulk of the scoring for the Jr. Ice and John Paris, Jr. was keen on keeping those two guys off the scoreboard.

The Roughriders struck first when Yannick Crete slid the puck past Alex Zion. Crete was assisted by Adam Durkee and Michael Buonincontri to take the early 1-0 lead at 2:00 of the first period. Exactly 34 seconds later Drew Doyon squeezed the puck past Joakim Jutras nullifying the Roughriders lead.

At 9:37 in the first, Adam Durkee nabbed a pass from Yannick Crete buried the puck and grabbed the lead back from the Jr. Ice. The Roughriders showed a lot of patience and discipline playing in the shortened playoff format. Both teams managed to stay out of the penalty box for the entire match.

Joey Marchese poured the heat onto the Jr. Ice when his linemate RJ Salvato fed him a pass in front of the net to put the Roughriders up 3-1. Six seconds later Durkee nabbed another goal putting the Roughriders up by 3.

The Jr. Ice weren't going to go away quietly and in fact had played a really great game, but were unable to put the points on the board when it counted. At 11:15 of the second, Cory Day pulled the Jr. Ice a goal closer to narrow the gap to 4-2.

With just over a minute left to play in the game, the Jr. Ice pulled their goalie to get the extra attacker on the ice. The extra attacker was able to help get a few final shots on goal, however a turnover in the neutral zone found the puck on Joey Marchese's stick and he was able to carry it into the empty net to seal the win for the Roughriders.

The Rocky Mountain Roughriders U16 AAA team advances to the Championship game to take on the winner of the Tampa Bay Alliance and Hatfield Ice Dogs.  The Tampa Bay Alliance ended up winning that game 2-1 in an Overtime shootout.


Official Gamesheet

Rocky Mountain Roughriders Enter Playoffs at Chicago Nike Bauer 2010

Lance Pennington and Joakim Jutras Protect the Net

Darien, IL - Early Sunday morning the Rocky Mountain Roughriders started playoff play when they faced the New Jersey Freeze on the Darien Sportsplex Wales arena. The Freeze entered the playoff match undefeated in the tournament just as the Roughriders.

The NJ Freeze were a well disciplined, strong skating hockey club but were unable to match the pace of the Roughriders. The playoff system was a bit unusual in that the quarter-final and semi-final rounds were played as two 15-minute halfs. Having 406 teams in a tournament equates to some strange ice times and some unique scheduling situations.

Since the games were so short, each team had to be diligent in getting the puck in the net and not taking any penalties. The Roughriders were successful on both counts. Yannick Crete continued his scoring streak when he put the Roughriders on the board first at 7:10 of the first period with an assist from Lance Pennington.  The first period ended with the Roughriders leading 1-0.

At the 6:31 mark of the second period, Yannick Crete once again struck gold with a fantastic rebound shot from Michael Bouincontri.

With time expiring in the game, Adam Durkee sealed the win with a world class shot snipe from just outside the hash marks from a nice feed from Austin Shick.

Joakim Jutras recorded another tournament shutout turning away every Freeze shot he faced. The Roughriders advanced to the semi-final round to face the Indianapolis Jr. Ice.


Official Gamesheet

Next Game: Semi-Finals - Roughriders vs. Indianapolis Jr. Ice

Rocky Mountain Roughriders U16 get past Atlanta Fire 3-2

Thomas Jarman tests the flex of the Bauer TotalOne

Darien, IL - In the second game in just a few hours, the Rocky Mountain Roughriders hit the ice to face the fresh Atlanta Fire. The Roughriders faced their toughest competition of the tournament with the relentless attack from the Fire. The Roughriders maintained control for a majority of the game, however fatigue and a departure from the 1-2-2 forecheck system left them scrambling for the last 5 minutes of the third period.

RJ Salvato got things on track for the Roughriders after a scoreless first period when he undressed the goalie with a couple dirty dangles and left the puck in the back of the net with assists from Gruber and Guymon. At 3:17 of the second period, Adam Durkee threaded the needle from the bottom of the circles to give the Roughriders a 2-0 lead.

Michael Buonincontri capped the Roughriders scoring at the 10:24 mark of the 3rd. The Atlanta took the reigns for the next 7 minutes scoring 2 goals and making an otherwise comfortable game into a real battle for the win.

With the win the Roughriders go undefeated in round robin play and advance to the playoff bracket.


Official Gamesheet

Next Game: Roughriders vs. New Jersey Freeze

Rocky Mountain Roughriders U16 defeat Mercer Chiefs 4-1

Yannick Crete Takes the Faceoff

Darien, IL - The Rocky Mountain Roughriders continued their quest for the tournament champions on Saturday morning when they stepped on the ice to face the Mercer Chiefs. The Mercer Chiefs came out with one mission and that was to beat the Roughriders. After a scoreless first period George Gruber VII broke the tie when he made no mistake putting the puck in the back of the twine at 7:39 of the second period. Felix Jarry found redemption at 10:59 of the second after he picked up Thomas Jarman's rebound to beat Hayden Richards on the short side.

The Chiefs tried to mount a short-lived comeback in the third when Matt Liebers snuck the puck past Jutras for the first goal against the netminder this tournament. Bouincontri and Crete rounded out the scoring to end the game 4-1.


Official Gamesheet

Next Game: Rougriders vs. Atlanta Fire

Roughriders outscore opponents 20-0 after 2 games

Nate Guymon strikes first for the GWG

Orland Park, IL - In what can only be called total domination, the Rocky Mountain Roughriders U16AAA sent a clear message to the Nike Bauer Invitational officials that they belong in the Elite division. The Roughriders applied to be in the Elite bracket, were denied, appealed and were denied again and were forced to play in the lower division U16AAA bracket. For a team that is currently ranked 20th in country to not be allowed to play with the top 40 teams in the country is more than an oversight.

On Friday night the Roughriders laced up the skates to face the TPH Thunder American from Tennessee. These two teams were mismatched from the start as the Thunder struggled in every aspect of the game. The Roughriders had possession of the puck roughly 95% of the game.  Joakim Jutras coasted to a shutout blocking all 4 shots he faced.

Nathan Guymon scored first, in what would end up being the Game Winning goal at the 4:45 mark of the first period on a brilliant shot from the point. Thomas Jarman banged home 2 more goals as the Roughriders cruised to a 9-0 win.


Game 1 Official Scoresheet

Game 2
Orland Park, IL - Several hours later the Roughriders lace up the blades and hit the ice for the second game of the day. With a 9:25pm start, the Roughriders only had a few hours to rest, recuperate and get ready to play again. The Dallas Ice Jets Prep team is made up of mostly 15 year olds and 14 year old goalie. Austin Benz got the start in net for the Ice Jets and played very well, however the Roughriders were able to squeeze 5 goals passed him before they put the backup goalie in.

Collin Biebel scored first and got the game winning goal thanks to a shutout performance from Evan McCarthy who was nothing short of stellar in net.  RJ Salvato and Braiden Miller had 3 point outings and were complimented by strong play from Felix Jarry and Hunter Clark who buried his first goal of the series.


Game 2 Official Scoresheet

Up Next: Rougriders vs. Mercer Chiefs

Chicago Nike Bauer Invitational Tournament 2010

The Chicago Nike Bauer Invitational Tournament is set to kickoff on Friday, November 5, 2010.  There will be 40 teams battling it out in the AAA division. There 8 divisions of 5 teams each. The Rocky Mountain Roughriders are in the ECAC College Cup Division.

They faceoff against the TPH Thunder American, TN on Friday at 3:05pm Chicago time, 2:05pm Mountain time. Unfortunately it does not look like the games will be broadcast on FastHockey.com.

The Roughrider's following game is against Dallas Ice Jets Prep, TX at 9:25pm Chicago time, 8:25pm Mountain time on Friday night.

5x7 Trader/Post Card

I try not to use this blog as a means of self-promotion and perhaps even to my own detriment, however I did want to take this opportunity to let people know of some new products I am offering and also to let them know that I will be traveling to Chicago and will be taking photos of the games whenever there is not another paid tournament photographer covering the game. As a professional courtesy I will not shoot a hockey game that is being covered by a tournament photographer. I have been in the tournament photography business for a long time and I know that it is a very tough and grueling business to be in and the last thing you need is somebody showing up at the rink undershooting and underselling your business.

So that being said, I will be taking photos when I can and have some new products that I am offering. If there is any interest I can do a follow up post with more pricing and sizing options, but I have 5x7 action  shots starting at $5 with no templates and then template shots starting around $12 and going up depending upon size and number of shots.

I have included two samples to give you an idea what is available.

8x10 2-shot Memory

Thanks for listening and if you are interested feel free to leave a comment here or email me at crossbarphoto@gmail.com.